Food Security in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA)

Zolfaghari, Mehdi and Jariani, Farzaneh (2021): Food Security in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

Abstract

With regards to the population growth and urbanization growth, food supply and food security both are among one of the most serious challenges for the countries of the Middle East and North Africa and such challenge can become as the main dilemma and problem for MENA region countries together with the global crises, regional crises and climatic changes. Since these countries are dependent on the imports of the foodstuffs in spite of their remarkable income which results from the both oil & gas exports accordingly any economic and political shock may endanger and jeopardize the food supply in the countries of the foregoing region. Hence, improving the political, commercial relations and the governments' performance which are done for reducing the tensions and all vulnerabilities arising out of the food insecurity will have a great role. In this research, we have studied the effects of institutional, economic and climatic indexes on the food security in MENA region using FMMs method within the time interval of 1995–2019 with regards to the significance of the role of institutional variables together with the economic and climatic ones. Results of this research show that in spite of the governments' endeavours for ensuring the food security, therefore, the food crisis concern will be assumed as a serious one throughout this region due to the failure of the existence of required participation and interaction among the government, private sector and people and the main reason for the above-said crisis is because of the infirmity of institutional variables in the countries existing in MENA regions which include the governance, prosperity, democracy and economic freedom and it should be noted that the war and tensions existing in the region can be known as one of the other drastic coefficients on the food insecurity.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Food security, Middle East and North Africa, GDP, Good Governance, Climate Change, Corruption, Democracy
• Subjects: F - International Economics > F5 - International Relations, National Security, and International Political Economy; N - Economic History > N5 - Agriculture, Natural Resources, Environment, and Extractive Industries > N55 - Asia including Middle East; O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O2 - Development Planning and Policy > O29 - Other; P - Economic Systems > P3 - Socialist Institutions and Their Transitions > P36 - Consumer Economics ; Health ; Education and Training ; Welfare, Income, Wealth, and Poverty; P - Economic Systems > P3 - Socialist Institutions and Their Transitions > P37 - Legal Institutions ; Illegal Behavior; P - Economic Systems > P4 - Other Economic Systems > P46 - Consumer Economics ; Health ; Education and Training ; Welfare, Income, Wealth, and Poverty; Q - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics ; Environmental and Ecological Economics > Q1 - Agriculture

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